Bubble and Squeak (V)

So Christmas has come and gone and we have all had our fair share of Christmas food. The one problem is what do we do with the left over carrots, roasties and the dreaded Brussels sprouts. This recipe will give you an easy way to use those left over veg and makes a great accompaniment with the left over meat or some cold meats.

Serves: Whatever leftovers you have will depend on the servings

2 Medium Onions
Left over Mash/Roasties -  Mashed up
Left over Vegetables (Brussell Sprouts, carrots, peas, parsnips etc), cut into small chunks
50g Butter
Olive Oil
Plain Flour
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven for 200c/180c fan assisted.

2. Fry the onions in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Then put in the mixing bowl.

3. Add the potatoes and vegetables to the mixing bowl. Add the butter to help bind the mixture together.

4. Put the flour on a separate plate with seasoning. Form the bubble and squeak mixture into patties  Cover with the seasoned flour.

5. Fry the patties in batches of 2. Fry on each side for a few minutes. When frying the first side it may be an idea to do it for longer as it will be easier to flip and will keep its shape.

6. Once they have all been fried, put on a tray and put in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with cold meats or meat leftover from the night before.

Decorating the Christmas Cake

So a few weeks ago I showed you how to make a Christmas Cake. You have been feeding it with brandy so now its time to decorate it. I will show you how to put marzipan and icing on the cake but decorating the top is up to you. You can buy icing and marzipan figures for the top to save time or buy coloured icing and make your own figures.

1 Christmas Cake

Fruit Cake - Either bought or made own
4 tbsp Apricot Jam
3 tbsp Brandy
Icing Sugar
Bit of water
Colour Icing/Icing Dyed with various colours/Pre purchased icing figures
1 Kg Marzipan
1 Kg Ready to Roll Icing

1. Heat the apricot jam in a pan until it begins to melt. Then sieve through into a bowl. Brush onto the cake.

2. Roll out the marzipan so that it covers the cake. Roll into the rolling pin and drape over the cake. Use a knife and remove the excess.

3. Roll the icing so that it covers the cake. Brush the marzipan with the brandy. Roll the icing into the rolling pin and drape over the cake. Instead of cutting the excess either use your thumb or the bottom of a teaspoon and create a semi circle at the base of the cake to seal. Remove the excess.

So you should have something like this:

So you can leave it like this OR you could decorate and make it something really special. Something as simple as putting a few trees on it with a couple of snowmen can make it look unique and your own. Let your creative side run wild. We don't want to see those horrible shop bought top only covered Christmas cakes.

So here are a few ideas I had:

Christmas Trees:
Get some green icing and roll into a cone. Then you get your kitchen scissors and snip into the tree to make it look more authentic. If using brown icing, make a little stump for the tree. Use the icing sugar and water mix to stick together.

Snowmen:
Make 3 small white balls, ranging from large to small. Attach together using the icing sugar and water mix. If using black icing make really small balls for the buttons and mouth of the snowman. Use a brown/orange icing for the carrot nose. Use the same icing to make the twig like arms for the snowman. And with the black icing or coloured icing for a top hat/woolly cap/scarf

Penguins:
For a penguin you need black icing. You make 2 balls, one large and one smaller one. The larger one should be slightly pointed at one end for the body. Stick together using the icing sugar mix. Use orange icing for the feet and beak. Stick with these with icing sugar mixture. Using the white icing, for the stomach and eyes. Then add 2 small balls of black icing for the pupils. If you have any coloured icing left give them a little scarf.

The other things I added was blue icing for the pond and little strands of green icing around the pond. Also to add a snow effect, I sprinkled the cake with icing sugar. And a major tip for this is icing sugar mixed with water makes an amazing glue when sticking icing together. But make your Christmas Cake your own. Even if you want to buy the actual cake, have fun decorating it, it's a fun activity for the whole family. Leave pictures and comments in the post or send them to me and will post the best ones on my next blog post. And don't forget, have a Merry Christmas and a Fabulous New Year.

What will your cake look like?

Merry Christmas From Me :)

Minestrone (V)

So you have just been out Christmas shopping or you have spent too much before your next pay cheque, you need something quick and cheap. This recipe is for you. All the ingredients here, you can find in your cupboards, bottom of fridges or freezers.

Serves: 4

100g-200g Pasta (Broken Bits, some left at the bottom of the bag)
2 tsp Red Pesto
1 Litre Veg Stock (If not got, use other stock in cupboard)
300ml Passata or Chopped Tomatoes
1 Mug of Frozen Peas
2 Mugs of Frozen Mixed Veg (3 if it includes Peas)
Can of Beans/Pulses (Brollotti, Cannellini etc)
Bit of Grated Cheese (Parmesan/Cheddar/Whatever is available)
1 Onion/4 Shallots
Knob of Butter/Knob of Garlic Butter (If any left from French Onion Soup Recipe)
Pinch of Thyme
Pinch of Sage
Salt and Pepper

1. Get a pan and add the butter and fry the onion/shallots for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and passata/chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to simmer.

2. Add the pasta and frozen vegetables to the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the red pesto to the pan with the can of beans. Heat through for a couple of minutes. Add the herbs to the pan and stir. Taste and season. Serve with grated cheese


Tip: Just see what's in your cupboard or what you have lying around. Make this your own recipe and be creative.

French Onion Soup (V)

Something nice and warm after you have been out Christmas shopping. Cheap to make and fairly healthy

50g Butter
3 Large Onions, finely sliced
6 Shallots, finely sliced
Shake of Worcestershire Sauce
2 Glasses of Red Wine
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Thyme
1 litre Vegetable Stock
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

Garlic Croutons
1 Baguette, cut into slices
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
50g Butter
100g Gruyère , grated
Handful of Parsely, chopped

1. Preheat the grill to a medium heat.

2. Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onions, shallots and garlic until softened. This should roughly take about 10 minutes over a low heat. 

3.  Increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes, until the onion becomes dark golden, sticky and caramelised, stirring now and again to stop it catching. 

4. Add the wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add the stock, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce and thyme and bring to the boil. Taste and Season. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. While the soup is simmering, prepare the croutons. Mix the garlic, butter and parsley together. Spread on the bread and put under the grill for 2 minutes. Once the butter has melted over the bread and it's beginning to toast put the cheese over it and put under the grill for a further 3 minutes. 

6. Pour the soup in the bowls, top with a giant garlic crouton.

Tip: Want help cutting up your fresh herbs. Heres what I use:

Christmas Cake (V)

Ah the Christmas Cake.... Rule of thumb for me is bake when you start seeing the Christmas chocolates in Supermarkets. Perfect with a glass of mulled wine. This will be a 2 parter, this will show you how to make the cake and then later on we show you how to decorate.

250g Currants
300g Raisins

200g Cherries
250g Dates
300g Sultanas
200ml Sherry (or preferred liqueur) extra for feeding
250g Light Brown Sugar
250g Butter
1 Lemon, zest and juice
1 Orange, zest and juice
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Cinnamon
100g Ground Almonds
100g Flaked Almonds
4 Eggs
250g Plain White Flour
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Mixed Spices

1. Preheat oven to 150C/130C fan. In a large pan put the brandy, butter, sugar, dried fruit, zest and juice of the orange and lemon.  Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.

2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment. Add the remaining ingredients to the fruit mixture and stir well. Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour and 50 minutes - 2 Hours.

3. Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer or toothpick and spoon over 2 tbsp of brandy. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.

4. Cling film the cake, and feed the cake 2 tbsp of brandy every week. Make it ahead of Christmas and it will be a really boozy cake.

Don't forget to decorate the cake with marzipan and icing.

Mushroom Stroganoff (V)

A variation of the Russian classic, Mushroom Stroganoff is creamy and tasty. Perfect with either Tagliatelle or rice.

Serves 4

250g Flatcap Mushrooms, sliced

250g Chestnut Mushrooms, quatered

1 Small Glass of White Wine

1 Onion, finely sliced

2 Garlic Clove, crushed

2 tsp French Mustard

2 tsp Paprika

Handful of Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

200ml Double Cream

300g Tagilatelie or Rice

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Shake of Worcestershire Sauce

Squirt of Lemon Juice

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil and boil the paste or rice for the instructed time.

2. While the pasta/rice is boiling, get a large frying pan and heat olive oil in the pan. Add the onions and garlic, fry until softened. Add the mushrooms and paprika and fry for 5 minutes.

3. Add the cream, wine, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and French mustard to the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Season to taste and add the parsley to the pan for 30 seconds while stirring. 

4. Drain the pasta/rice from the pan, serve onto the plate and add the sauce on top. Serve.

Tip: If the sauce hasn't thickened, get a teaspoon of cornflour and put it into a glass and mix with a dash of water. Add to the pan, leave for a couple of minutes and the sauce should thicken.

Lancashire Hotpot

It's getting cold outside so we need something to warm our bellys. This is where Lancashire Hotpot comes in, with a mixture of flavours that go so well together. This was tweaked a bit, so it isnt your standard Lancashire Hotpot. I added black pudding and red wine to give it a bit more body.

Serves 4-6

800g Stewing Lamb
250g Black Pudding
2 Onions, finely diced
A Good handful of  fresh Rosemary
A Small Glass of Red Wine
400ml Lamb Stock or Vegtable Stock
A good shake of Worcestershire Sauce
4tbsp Plain Flour
100g Butter
4 Carrots, peeled and sliced
900g Potatoes, peeled and sliced

1. Preheat 160c/140c Fan assisted. Put some of the butter in a pan to fry the lamb. Do this is batches. The lamb should release some of the juices so you won't need to keep adding more butter. For each batch put it on a plate. Once the meat is done fry the black pudding for a few minutes and put on the plate with the lamb.

2. If the pan is dry add more butter. Fry the onions and carrots until soft. Add the stock, wine, rosemary and Worcestershire Sauce to the pan. Let it boil for a couple of minutes then add the meat and black pudding to the pan. Boil for a further couple of minutes, then transfer to a casserole dish.

3. Add the sliced potatoes to the top of the meat. It should be covered and add a bit of butter to the top of the potatoes. Cover with tin foil or the lid and put in the oven for 1 Hour and 40 minutes. After remove the foil, increase the heat to 200c/180c fan assisted for 8 minutes to cook the potatoes more. Serve with green vegetables.

Need some decent Cassarole dishes, check here :

Chocolate Teacake (V)

So was watching the Great British Bake Off and thought I could make those but made some changes to the recipe to make it my own. With a biscuit base, marshmallow and jam centre coated in a chocolate sphere. Interesting fact, there was a legal battle over whether the Chocolate teacake is a biscuit or a cake. The European court ruled that the Teacake was not, in fact, a biscuit but a cake.

Makes 6 Teacakes

Biscuit
50g Wholemeal Flour
50g Plain Flour, shifted
30g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
25g Butter, left at room temperature
2 tbsp Milk
Pinch of salt

Marshmallow
3 Medium Free Range Egg Whites
150g Caster Sugar
6 tbsp Golden Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Sphere
400g Milk Chocolate (good quality chocolate is needed).
Half Sphere Silicone Moulds
6 tsp Raspberry Jam

1. Preheat the oven to 170c/150c Fan assisted. Grease a baking tray.

2. For the biscuit, put the flours, caster sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl and rub together with the butter. Add the milk and make into a small ball.

3. Flour a surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. The dough shouldn't be too thick, around 1/4 inch thickness. The biscuit should cover the moulds, I used a medium size wine glass to cut the biscuits. Chill in the fridge.

4. While the biscuits are chilling in the fridge, its time to melt the chocolate to make the spheres for the teacakes. Melt 300g of the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, line the moulds with the chocolate. Use the smooth side of a spoon to help spread the chocolate evenly around the mould. Set a side to let it set.

5. Place the biscuits on the baking tray and put in the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Don't let them burn. Let them cool on a wire rack.

6. For the marshmallow, put all the ingredients in a large bowl over a large pan of simmer water. Whisk for 10 minutes using an electric whisk. It should double in size and should be a thick consistency.

7. Spoon the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag. Pipe the mixture into the now cooled chocolate domes.

8. Melt the remaining chocolate. Coat the biscuits in the chocolate and leave to cool on the wire rack.

9. When the marshmallow has set, put a teaspoon of raspberry jam on top of the marshmallow. Place the biscuit on top of the marshmallow and jam. Then with the remaining chocolate seal any open areas between the biscuit and the chocolate sphere. Leave for a few minutes to let the chocolate cool.

10. Carefully remove the teacakes from the mould. It should be easy to remove from the moulds. Enjoy!

Tip: Having trouble finding the moulds: Click Below

Viennese Whirls (V)

A lovely biscuit which is delectable with a nice cup of tea. Tried and tested on friends and family.

Makes 15 Biscuits

Biscuit
250g Butter, at room temperature
50g of Icing Sugar
250g Plain Flour, shifted
50g Cornflour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Filling
100g Butter, left at room temperature
100g  Raspberry Jam
1/2 vanilla extract
200g Icing Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan assisted oven. Grease a baking tray and line with grease proof paper.

2. In a food processor put all the biscuit ingredients in and blend until smooth. This will take a couple of minutes. Make sure you put all of the mixture from the processor into the pipping bag with a large star nozzle (Pipping Bag I used can be seen at the bottom of the post).

3. When pipping the mixture onto the tray make sure the pipping bag is at a 90 degree angle to the tray and squeeze the mixture out a medium size rosettes of dough. Make sure they are spread out so they don't stick together when they bake. Put in the oven and make for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Leave the biscuits to cool on a wire rack. While they are cooling, make the butter icing by mixing the butter, icing sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl. Mix with a fork until fully combined.

5. Once the biscuits are cooled put a small teaspoon of jam on the smooth side of the biscuit, butter icing and top with a biscuit. Repeat the process until you are out of biscuits. Dust with some icing sugar and serve.

Prawn Cocktail

A classic starter which originated in the 1970s and in my own opinion is a timeless classic. Quick and easy to make and is a real crowd pleaser.

Serves 2

4 Tiger Prawns
175g King Prawns
Knob of Butter
1 tsp Parsley (Dried or Fresh)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Little Gem lettuces, washed and torn
2 tsp Paprika

Thousand Island Dressing
5 tbsp Mayonnaise
5 tbsp Tomato Sauce
2 tsp Lemon Juice
Shake of Tabasco (optional)
Shake of Worcestershire Sauce
Pepper
Salt

1. Fry the butter in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and the tiger prawns and fry until the prawns go bright red.

2. Make the Thousand Island dressing by adding all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the king prawns and mix further.

3. Get a large wine glass (suggested size seen below), and place 1 little gems worth of lettuce in each glass, add the prawn/thousand island mixture on top of that. Add a tsp of paprika on top of the mixture for each glass. On the side of the glass add the tiger prawns. Serve with brown bread and a side plate to put the discarded shells.



Tip
You will need a large wine glass so that you can get the food out. A wine glass which can hold half a bottle or more is ideal. And when you aren't serving prawn cocktail from them, they make great drinking companions.

Puff Pastry (V)

Anything from pasties to pies. Savoury to sweet. Also the ingredients you will need will be in your cupboard so why fork out more money when you can make it yourself

Makes pastry enough for about 4 servings (Eg 4 pasties)

250g Plain White Flour
150ml Cold Water
1 tsp Salt
250g Butter, cut into small cubes

1. In a mixing bowl put flour and salt in. Rub the butter into the flour (The messy bit)

2. Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add 100ml of water. Mix well. Add any extra water if needed. Then cover and put in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3. Knead out onto a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Form into a rectangle.

4. Roll in one direction so that its 3 times the size it was. Fold the top third to the centre and the bottom third so that it over laps it. Turn clockwise and then roll to 3 times the size again. Fold the same way again and cling film and store in the fridge for 20 minutes or until its needed.

Tip: Don't need all of it? Freeze it. You can freeze it for up to 1 month after making it.


Don't Forget your rolling pin :-)

Mushroom Risotto (V)

Risotto is a bit tricky but when you cook it right it tastes delicious. An italian dish which most people love. Also if you are a mushroom lover then add more porcini mushrooms.

Serves 4

1 litre of Vegetable Stock
125g Unsalted Butter
200g Mushrooms
50g Porcini Mushrooms
150 ml White Wine
200g Risotto Rice (I used Arborio)
50g Parmesan, plus extra to serve
1 tsp Thyme
2-3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 Onions, finely sliced
Salt and Pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the mushrooms and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes to heat through.

3. Pour the wine into the saucepan and increase the heat. The wine needs to disappear to remove the alcohol.

4. Stir in  the rice and fry for about a minute.

5. Add a ladleful of stock to the pan. Wait until the stock has absorbed and keep adding a ladleful of stock until its all gone. This should take 10-15 minutes.

6. Once the stock has gone mix in the parmesan cheese. Leave it to rest for a couple minutes then serve with extra grated parmesan.

Lemon Drizzle Cake (V)

A lovely light cake which is always good with a nice cup of tea.

Makes 1 Cake

150g Self Raising Flour
125g Caster Sugar
1 Lemon, juice and zest
2 tbsp Lemon Curd
Dash of Milk
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Medium eggs
75 Unsalted Butter

Drizzle
2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 Lemon, zest and juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c Fan assisted

2. Butter a loaf tin and line with baking paper.

3. Beat the butter and caster sugar together using either a wooden spoon or electric whisk. This should take about 10 minutes.

4. Once the mixture is light and fluffy add the eggs, lemon juice & zest, flour, lemon curd, milk and baking powder. Mix well.

5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes  To test the cake is cooked through poke a skewer through. If it comes out clean then it is cooked through.

6. While the cake is in the oven prepare the drizzle. Mix the juice, zest and sugar together. Once the cake is out of the oven evenly pour the drizzle over and leave to cool for about an hour. Serve with a nice cup of tea .

Hyper Smash

Dauphinoise Potatoes (V)

A side dish which I would always pick over chips. So delicious and is a good accompaniment to steak.

Serves 4

1 Kg of Large Potatoes, peeled and sliced
6 Shallots, finely sliced
3-4 cloves of Garlic, crushed
500ml Double Cream
50g Butter
100g Cheddar Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted.

2. Put the butter in a pan and fry the shallots for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and cream to the pan and leave to simmer.

3. Place the potatoes in the pan and leave for about 5 minutes.

4. Tip the contents of the pan into an ovenproof dish. Top with the grated cheese and put in the oven for 30-40 Minutes. The potatoes should soften and brown

Kedgeree

An indian dish with lots of interesting thing in it. Tweaked the original recipe a bit but tastes fantastic.

Serves 4

600g Smoked Haddock

50g Butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 cup of Frozen Peas

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

2 tsp Curry Powder (Medium or Hot)

2 Green Chillies, finely sliced

1 cup of Basmati Rice

700ml Fish/Vegetable Stock

1 Cinnamon Stick

100ml Double Cream

3 Hard Boiled Eggs, cut into wedges

2 tbsp Fresh Parsley

2 tbsp Flat Leaf Coriander 

1. Poach the haddock in a shallow frying pan, skin facing up, cover with boiling water and simmer fot about 10 minutes.

2. Drain the fish and pat dry the fish with paper towels. Remove the skin and flake the fish into bite size chunks and put aside.

3. Heat the butter in a large pan and add the onion. Fry until golden then add the curry powder, cumin, ground coriander and chilli. Stir for about a minute.

4. Add the rice and stir well. Add the stock to the pan with the cinnamon stick.  Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

5. Remove the cinnamon stick from the pan and stir in the haddock, egg and herbs to the pan. Season and serve.

Bara Brith (V)

A Welsh bread made with dried fruit, tea and spices. In welsh it means 'speckled bread'. It tastes delicious and always a good companion with a cup of hot tea.

Makes 1 Loaf

450g Mixed Dried Fruit
1 Mug of Black Tea
225g Demerara Sugar
100g Glace Cherries, halved
1 1/2 tsp Mixed Spices
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 large free range egg
450g Self Raising Flour
100g Butter
2 tbsp Clear Honey
1 tbsp Caster Sugar

1. Put the mixed dried fruit in a mixing bowl with sugar. Pour the tea over the sugar and fruit, cover and leave overnight.

2.  Preheat the oven to 170c/150c fan assisted. Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

3.  Mix the rest of the ingredients with the dried fruit mixture. Mix well.

4. Pour in the loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. To check its cooked all the way through skewer through the centre, if its cooked it should come out clean.

5. Cool on the rack. Sprinkle with caster sugar. Serve

Pea Soup With Croutons

This soup is quick and easy and only needs a few ingredients, so cheap to make. Plus it's that time of year where it's getting colder and we all need something to warm ourselves up. 

Serves 4

Soup

400g Frozen Peas

1 Onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Mint

1/2 Garlic Clove, Crushed

3 Rashers of Bacon, chopped

Half a Pint of Vegetable Stock

Salt and Pepper

Croutons

1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Garlic, crushed

2 Rashers of Bacon, chopped finely

1/2 Slices of Bread

1.  Fry the bacon for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and onion and fry until softened. 

2. Add the Vegetable stock to the pan with the peas and boil until the peas have cooked through.

3. While the peas are boiling, mix the olive and garlic together and dip the bread in oil. Fry the bread and bacon in a pan.

4. Once the peas have cooked, blitz with a handblender. Season if needed. Pour into bowls, top with croutons and bacon and serve with crusty bread. 

Lasagne

The Garfield classic. A dish which is common among the micro meals but tastes far better when you make it yourself. Can be made in advance and cooked later.

Serves 6

Meat Filling

700g Mince Beef
Pack of Back Bacon
1 Medium Glass of Red Wine
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp of Dried Oregano
4 tbsp Tomato Puree
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce
2 Onions, finely chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
Salt And Pepper
Squeeze of Lemon Juice
400ml Beef Stock
Olive Oil

Cheese Sauce

50g Butter
800 ml Milk
250g Strong Cheddar (use the good stuff as the cheap stuff dosent taste nice)
4 tbsp White Flour
1 tsp Nutmeg

Lasagna Sheets

1. Get a large frying pan, put over a medium heat and add olive oil. Fry the onions and garlic until they begin to soften. Add the bacon and fry for 5 minutes.

2. Add the mince beef and fry until it begins to brown.

3.  Add stock, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, bay leaves, oregano, lemon juice and tomato puree. Leave to boil until the stock had reduced.

4. While the stock is boiling, prepare the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in the pan. Gradually add the flour to the melted butter until it thickens. Then add the milk to the pan and whisk. Leave on a low heat for about 5-10 minutes. If the sauce hasn't thickened add more flour. Once thickened add the cheese and nutmeg.

5. In a large oven proof dish layer the meat ragu, then lasagna sheets and some cheese sauce. Repeat this until the meat ragu and cheese sauce runs out. Then on the top grate more cheese.

6. Either refrigerate until needed or put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes at 200c/180c fan assisted. Serve.

Eton Mess (V)

A traditional english poudding. The myth was that Eton mess was crweated when a meringue dessert was dropped accidently, and whatever was salvaged was served as a crushed meringue with strawberries and cream.

Meringue

Serves 6

Meringue
4 Egg Whites
225g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Cornflour
1tsp White Wine Vinegar

Vanilla Pod
284ml Double Cream
1 Punnets of Strawberries, cut the stems off
1 Punnets of Raspberries
2 tbsp Icing Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180/160 fan assisted. Cover a baking tray with a baking sheet.

2. Using an electric whisk (using a normal whisk is good exercise but takes a long time), whisk the egg whites until it begins to stiffen.

3. Gradually add the sugar while whisking the egg whites. Then when the sugar is used up keep whisking for about 5 minutes. Then add the cornflour and white wine vinegar. It should be stiff and if you tip upside down it should stay in the mixing bowl.

4. Spoon the meringue mix onto a baking sheet. Put in the oven for an hour and 40 minutes.

5. Put the double cream in a bowl then scrape the vanilla pod seeds into the bowl with the icing sugar. Whisk until the cream is stiff.

6. Once the meringue is baked brake up into small bits. Mix with the fruit and cream. Serve.

Nain's Apple Pie (V)

One of the people that got me interested in cooking/baking was my Nain. Her Sunday dinners were the best. And this was my favourite pudding that she makes.

Makes 1 pie

Filling

1kg Bramley apples, peel, core and slice them.
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp runny honey
4 tbsp caster sugar
Lemon Juice

Pastry
60g Brown Sugar
225g Unsalted Butter (left at room temp)
2 Eggs (save half an egg to brush the pastry)
350g Plain Flour



1. For the pastry, mix the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Then gradually add 100g of plain at a time, continuously stirring.

2. Begin to mix the dough in with your hands. Put in a ball, then wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for half an hour.

3. Stew the apples, by covering a base of a pan with water, and a squirt of lemon juice. Add the apple to the pan and put on a medium heat on the hob for about 10-15 minutes.

4. Take the pastry out of the fridge and divide into two. Begin to roll the dough and cover the base of a pan/dish. Trim the edges and keep the excess pastry aside.

5. Pour in the apples. Add the honey and 3 tbps of caster sugar to the apples. Roll the other pastry and cover the apples. Trim the excess of pastry.

6. Use the excess to decorate your pie (example below). Using the rest of the egg and a bit of water brush the top of the pastry. Sprinkle with the remaining caster sugar. Put in a preheated oven at 200c/180c fan assisted for 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream or double cream.

Lemon and Prawn Pasta

A quick midweek meal which is easy on the wallet and the stomach.

Serves 2

150g Linguine

Small Carton of Double Cream

100g Frozen Peas

Handful of Parsley

1 Lemon

200g Prawns

Parmesan, grated

1 Egg Yolk

Salt and Pepper

1. Put the pasta in a pan and boil according to the instructions.

2. In a bowl put the egg yolk, zest and juice on a lemon, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. A few minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the prawns and peas to the pan. Drain the water and put pasta, prawns and peas back in the pan. Put the sauce in the pan and mix over a low heat for about a minutes. Serve with parmesan on top. 

Bruschetta (V)

A simple starter which is easy to make. Doesn't need any cooking in the oven or on the hob, just prep work and toasting.

Serves 4

300g Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Red Onion, finely chopped
10 Basil Leaves, torn up
1 Red Pepper, de seeded and finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
Shake of olive oil
Lettuce
Baguette Bread, sliced
Balsamic Vinegar


1. In a mixing bowl, put the basil, garlic, pepper, tomato, red pepper, red onion and olive oil in.

2. Put the baguette bread in the toaster.

3. Put the lettuce leave on the plate, then the bread and put the tomato mixture on the bread. Then shake some balsamic vinegar over the food.

Houmous (V)

Houmous is another picnic favourite which tastes so much better when you make it yourself and it doesn't take that much time at all. Serve with bits of pitta, carrot sticks and cucumber sticks.

Serves 4

1 x 400g Can of Chickpeas
1 Garlic clove, crushed
4 tbsp Plain Yoghurt
4 tbsp Tahini Paste
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Handful of Corriander, chopped
Splash of Lemon Juice

1. Put everything apart from the coriander and 1 tbsp of the olive oil in the food processor. Blend together and spoon whatever is on the side of the processor after its finished blending

2. Taste and season. Add the coriander and blitz again. Spoon into a serving bowl/Tupperware and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with pitta bread, carrot sticks and cucumber stick